Sweet Wines

Huntergonzo

My apologies if I've missed a recent thread on this, just looking for some advice on wine brands.

Basically I'm looking for a cheap (preferably less than €20 but will spend up to €30), sweet wine, both red and white.

It's not for anything special and I don't intend to have it with food, I just like a few glasses of wine over Christmas and I never know which ones have a sweet flavour, I'm not a fan of bitter after tastes.

odyssey06

Not sure if it's a recommendation as such, but I got Apothic Red (a Californian blend) in Tesco for about €10 once.
Am more of a dry red fan so it was way too sweet for me but might be what you are looking for.

For whites if dessert wines aren't too sweet for you they'd be your safest best... look for German\Austrian\Canadian dessert wines on special in ALDI, or in supermarkets sherries labelled as 'cream' style.

dudara

Are you looking for a full-on dessert wine, or are you looking for an off-dry (i.e. slightly sweet) wine?

Huntergonzo

dudara wrote: »

Are you looking for a full-on dessert wine, or are you looking for an off-dry (i.e. slightly sweet) wine?

I'd be happy to try either to be honest if you know any good brands. The only wine I consistently buy this time of year is Taylor's port, but I'm not specifically looking for a port, my apologies if that's a but vague, I know very little about wine.

Ps, I would have a slight preference for red wine but I do like both.

the beer revolu

Huntergonzo wrote: »

I'd be happy to try either to be honest if you know any good brands. The only wine I consistently buy this time of year is Taylor's port, but I'm not specifically looking for a port, my apologies if that's a but vague, I know very little about wine.

Ps, I would have a slight preference for red wine but I do like both.

OK, it sounds like you are after full on dessert wines or fortified wines.
The best advice you'll get will be in a decent wineshop.

There are some very interesting sweet wines out there but it's a fairly specialist market.

I think Lidl might have an Eiswein at the moment which might be worth a shot.

If you can find Lustau Moscatel, it's an amazing complex sweet beauty. Liquid marmalade but not cloying.

Huntergonzo

Thanks for the advice so far guys, at least I'm armed with a bit knowledge now before heading off to buy wine.

dudara

Wine is naturally dry, which means there is a low level of residual sugar. Wines with higher levels of residual sugar range from the off-dry (slightly sweet) all the way through to the very sweet wines (sometimes called dessert wines or stickies).

In the world of white wine, you might like a sweet Riesling. Look for phrases like Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese and Eiswein. These are the various grades of sweet Riesling from slightly sweet all the way through to fully sweet.

For another off-dry option - Lidl have a nice off-dry Pinot Gris at the moment, I'd call it medium on the dry - sweet scale. It's Louis Irion Grand Cru Verburg Pinot Gris 2008. Muscatel/Moscatel wines are also off-dry

In terms of dessert white wines, look out for any wine made via the Botrytis or Icewine methods. These include your classic Sauternes and will all be very nice and sweet.

In terms of red wines, you obviously have ports. Red dessert wines are a little less common, but a good off-license will have options. There are some gorgeous Italian red dessert wines. In terms of regular wines, White Zinfandel is often off-dry (i.e. slightly sweet).

You might also like cream sherries. Sherry is naturally dry (i.e. not sweet), but cream sherries have sweetness added.

odyssey06

O'Briens have a really nice, slightly fizzy, off dry (slightly sweet) Italian Moscato d'Asti for about €15, if there's one near you I would recommend that - it's more of an aperitif than a dessert wine.

If buying sherry look for 37.5 cl bottles as better to sample it in smaller size.

I know A Winter's Tale has a naff reputation but if you find yourself drinking it as the only available alcohol in an elderly relative's house, you will realise it has some commendable quality to it.